12-1940

Diary for Tuesday, December 31, 1940: Air War RAF daylight raids on Cologne, Rotterdam (oil supplies), Ijmuiden (docks) and bridge over Rhine near Emmerich. Valona (Albania) and Assab (Italian East […]

Diary for Monday, December 30, 1940: Home Front Britain: Royal Engineers and Pioneers dynamite fire-gutted buildings in City of London.

Diary for Sunday, December 29, 1940: Air War Britain: SECOND GREAT FIRE OF LONDON. 136 aircraft drop 30,000 incendiaries – great conflagration in ‘City’ area; Guildhall and 8 Wren churches

Diary for Saturday, December 28, 1940: Secret War The Gelsenkirchen Report: RAF photo-reconnaissance mission of Ruhr synthetic oil plant, flown December 24, shows it not destroyed.

Diary for Friday, December 27, 1940: Air War Britain: Night raids on London by 100 aircraft.

Diary for Thursday, December 26, 1940: Air War RAF daylight raids on airfields in Brittany; night raid on Bordeaux.

Diary for Wednesday, December 25, 1940: Sea War Atlantic: Heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper attacks large British troop convoy west of Cape Finisterre, damaging 2 ships and escorting cruiser Berwick. Air

Diary for Tuesday, December 24, 1940: Sea War Mediterranean: Greek sub Papanicolis sinks Italian transport off Albania.

Diary for Monday, December 23, 1940: Home Fronts Britain: Eden becomes Foreign Secretary; Lord Halifax goes to Washington Embassy.

Diary for Sunday, December 22, 1940: Air War Britain: First of two consecutive heavy night raids on Manchester.

Diary for Saturday, December 21, 1940: Sea War Pacific: German disguised raiders Komet and Orion land 496 survivors (including 70 women and 7 children) from 10 British and Allied merchant

Diary for Friday, December 20, 1940: Air War Britain: First of two consecutive heavy night raids on Liverpool. Home Fronts Britain: Committee of Enquiry into Arandora Star disaster from July

Diary for Thursday, December 19, 1940: Neutrals Finland: President Kallio dies of heart failure on the day of his retirement; aged 67.

Diary for Wednesday, December 18, 1940: Home Fronts Britain: 10,969 evacuees have now arrived from Gibraltar. Germany: HITLER ORDERS PREPARATIONS FOR INVASION OF RUSSIA (Operation Barbarossa) with deadline of May

Diary for Tuesday, December 17, 1940: North Africa British capture Sollum and Fort Capuzzo. 20,000 captured Italians to be sent to India and interned at Ahmednagar, Ramgarh and Deolali. Sea

Diary for Monday, December 16, 1940: Air War First area bombing raid on German city: 134 RAF aircraft sent to Mannheim (night December 16-17). Large fires started on both banks

Diary for Sunday, December 15, 1940: Occupied countries France: Coffin of Napoleon II (1811-1832), transported from Vienna to Paris on Hitler‘s orders, is reburied in Les Invalides. Air War RAF

Diary for Saturday, December 14, 1940: Neutrals Vichy France: Petain dismisses Foreign Minister Laval and appoints Flandin. (German Ambassador subsequently intercedes on Laval’s behalf.) Irish Republic: IRA internees set fire

Diary for Friday, December 13, 1940: Sea War Mediterranean: Cruiser Coventry damaged by Italian submarine Neghelli off coast of Libya.

Diary for Thursday, December 12, 1940: Air War Britain: 336 bombers sent to Sheffield (night December 12-13): many streets blocked by debris and wrecked tramcars. Follow-up raid by 94 planes